Bamboo
Bamboo is the generic term for more than one thousand unique subspecies of the grass family that resemble trees. These species are organized into around one hundred families and may be found in tropical and subtropical climates throughout the world, although they are most common in Southeast Asia. Bamboo has thin, oblong, pointed leaves and a strong wooden hollow stem divided into compartments by the joints. It is among the fastest-growing plants in the world, and some species may grow up to 0.5 meter per day. The size of species varies, and the largest bamboo may grow a stem up to 60 meters tall during a lifetime ranging from 12 to 120 years. Bamboo only blossoms and produces seeds after several years of growth, and after blooming, the plant dies. When large areas of bamboo plants blossom simultaneously, it seriously affects the fauna of the area; those animals, like the great panda, that feed on bamboo shoots are forced to migrate and forage elsewhere.
Bamboo is a very strong and flexible material, and it is used for a virtually endless variety of products. In ancient China, strips of bamboo bound together with strings were used as books. Sections of large stems closed by the joint at one end have been used as containers, to hold water or to place writing brushes in. Large stems have also been used as building materials and are widely employed as scaffoldings even when building high-rises. Four to five large stems tied together constitute a small vessel used for fishing on the rivers of southern China. Traditionally, fireworks were made from bamboo, and the stems are also used for furniture, various tools, canes, fencing, fishing poles, musical instruments, papermaking, and pipes of different sorts. Parts of the plant are used in traditional Chinese medicine; the roots are used in treatment of cancer. Both bamboo seeds and shoots are an integral part of Chinese cuisine. The leaves are used to make fodder for animals and fish. In China the bamboo plant has been celebrated for centuries as the symbol of a person's integrity and nobility, and it is an extremely popular motif with painters and poets. Being a fast-growing plant and a high oxygen generator, bamboo has recently been used to revitalize wasteland,and it has also become a favorite garden plant in the West.
Bamboo has many uses in Asia. Here, a man climbs on a bamboo construction scaffolding in Hong Kong. (TRAVEL INK/CORBIS)Bent Nielsen
Further Reading
Farrelly, David. (1995) The Book of Bamboo: A Comprehensive Guide to This Remarkable Plant, Its Uses, and Its History. London: Thames & Hudson.
Moulik, Sunanda. (1997) The Grasses and Bamboos of India. 2 vols. Jodhpur, India: Scientific Publishers.
Zhu Shilin, Ma Naixun, and Fu Maoyi. (1997) A Compendium of Chinese Bamboo. Beijing: China Forestry Publishing House.
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